#louisville courier journal

[brandonraykirk]

Ellison Hatfield (1889)

Ellison "Cotton Top" Hatfield (1889) #Appalachia #history #HatfieldMcCoyFeud #PIkeville #KY

Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, 28 October 1889.

[bretzkysbs]

from The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, December 27, 1925

(via Yesterday's Print on X)

[yesterdaysprint]

The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, April 17, 1925

[spawksstuff]

1976 07 18 The Courier Journal

Omicron Fantasy Convention - Louisville, Ky

[magpiepills]

I saw your post about Breonna Taylor. If you don't mind I like to ask some questions about her. Most of what I know about her is from watching documentaries and YouTube videos talking about her. Do you know any websites or news articles that talks about her? How accurate are the documentaries about her? Especially ones like ABC 20/20?

Hi there! I have not personally watched any documentaries about Breonna Taylor’s murder. I can’t say how accurate they are. What I know about what transpired I learned from reputable local news reports-mainly the Louisville NPR affiliate, the Courier Journal, posts in private groups, as well as person to person reporting at protests and from live streams of the protests. I’m not an expert on this, I can’t posit myself as someone who is an authority on the matter. But I have followed it very closely because it incenses me that this crime has gone unpunished, that a victim has been dragged through the mud, her loved ones traumatized by killer cops. It’s unconscionable.

Here are a couple links that I feel are trustworthy. If after reading all this you are angry and feel powerless, please check to make sure you are registered to vote and then VOTE. Pick candidates who are committed to police reform. Take your friends. Tell them about Breonna.

[beardedmrbean]

FRANKFORT – Potential mothers could claim child support during pregnancy under a new proposal before the Kentucky legislature.

House Bill 243, filed by Republican Reps. Amy Neighbors of Edmonton and Stephanie Dietz of Edgewood, would change Kentucky law to claim child support "at any time following conception."

The bill is designed to support pregnant mothers, Neighbors said.

"There are a lot of costs associated with a pregnancy and basically getting ready for baby," Neighbors said, pointing to car seats, other needed supplies and lost work time when a pregnant mother has to attend doctor appointments.

But abortion-rights advocates see the bill as part of an attempt to advance an anti-abortion agenda by laying the groundwork for fetal personhood under Kentucky law.

Bills based on the idea that a fetus is a person have been filed across the country after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Neighbors said her decision to introduce the bill was not directly influenced by Kentucky's ban on most abortions but rather by a desire to support women during pregnancy.

The measure also would allow paternity testing prior to birth, as long as it's safe to do so, Neighbors said.

The bill was sent to the Committee on Committees on Jan. 11. Neighbors said she believes HB 243 will have widespread support from House Republicans.

Critics see bill as attempt at fetal personhood

Abortion-rights advocates told The Courier Journal the measure is an attempt to cement into law the belief that life begins at conception.

Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, said the measure would create a "slippery slope" for pregnant people.

"What the bill would do would be to grant full personhood to an embryo from the moment of conception," Willner said. "These so-called personhood laws could result in a pregnant woman facing child abuse charges and even incarceration if she seeks treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.”

“The legislature should instead focus on bolstering actual support for pregnancy, such as ensuring insurance access, covering doula and midwifery services, and expanding mental health supports," Willner said.

"This bill is an underhanded attempt to advance an anti-abortion agenda and lay the groundwork for fetal personhood in state law by allowing people to seek child support for a fetus," said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director for the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.

Wieder is also concerned the bill would open the door for surveillance of pregnant people because it would require the state to verify their eligibility for child support. She agreed with Willner that the legislature should focus on health care during pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood will ask its supporters to call legislators and express their opposition, Wieder said.

"We may actually be able to stop this because Kentuckians don't want more restrictions to abortion, and this is another abortion restriction that would be codified in law," Wieder said.

But when asked when asked about the comments from abortions-rights supporters, Neighbors said, "I can’t stress enough that my goal is to simply be supportive of mothers, children, and families."

National trend

The bill is the first Kentucky measure Willner has seen that creates a potential personhood definition for a fetus, she said.

But other states and Congress have considered, and in some cases adopted, similar bills around child support.

In 2021, Utah adopted a measure that requires fathers to pay 50% of the mother's pregnancy expenses. Indiana's legislature last year expanded the list of childbirth-related expenses fathers could be held responsible for paying, though the legislature stopped short of categorizing those payments as child support.

Georgia's abortion law applies the state's child support rules to any fetus "with a detectable heartbeat."

Washington Republicans have introduced bills similar to the current proposal in Kentucky. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, in December introduced in their respective chambers the "Supporting Healthy Pregnancy Act," which would require biological fathers to pay child support for medical expenses during pregnancy.

"These bills are often introduced by folks who are pro-life or anti-abortion who believe that a fetus or unborn child is a rights-holding person," said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California-Davis. She is writing a book about the fetal personhood movement.

"The strategy behind them is to set a precedent that, you know, that life in the womb has rights essentially, which would obviously have extensions to abortion too," Ziegler said. "Essentially it would mean liberal abortion laws would be unconstitutional."

A separate Kentucky bill introduced by Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, would add exceptions for rape, incest, maternal health, and lethal fetal anomalies to Kentucky's near-total ban on abortions. __________________

I thought this was what they wanted, people keep going after pro life people for fetal child support and now that it's on the docket they're mad for some reason.

[franciswhetsel]

I can't find on my blog if I've posted about this before, but the 19th century local dandy that wrote Edgar Allen Poe fanfiction, Douglass Sherley, was mentioned in this letter that a local historian dug up for me and it is fascinating. I'm just going to copy + paste my pillowfort post about it.

So the historian I've been in contact with was an incredible help, and went ahead and transcribed the bits of the letters that discuss Sherley.

"The description of Douglass Sherley is on the final page of that letter (page 6) and reads:

“By this time you have, doubtless, read of the horrible confirmation of the old reports about Douglass Sherley. I did not believe them before and cannot comprehend how he could have been guilty of such baseness. He has consented to leave the country for good next Monday, so ___ Sherley’s brother informed brother Will.” Bruce then goes on to talk about cantaloupes, I think. I believe the blank might be “Mrs.” or a first name.

Second letter, second page

“You say you did not read of Douglass Sherley’s disgrace. Don’t speak of it to anyone, for the disgraceful affair should never pollute a woman’s lips.' "

These letters are from August 23rd and August 28th 1896, and there are barely any mention of him in the Courier Journal after 1896. This is important because prior to that he was all over the paper. There were mentions of him going to numerous weddings and parties, he wrote columns for the paper, and he was involved in putting on things like operas and plays. 

He also died in Martinsville, Indiana, which makes me wonder if that was where he moved. (I believe he still lived in Louisville for part of his last years.) 

I think I've just about reached a wall with my research; the only other thing I have any interest (at the moment, at least) in chasing after are newspapers that he was in when he toured with James Whitcomb Riley. Someone else was kind enough to write a blog entry that includes clippings from non-Louisville newspapers, and they're an interesting look into how Sherley was known outside of Louisville: 

The Wilmington, NC Weekly Star, 8 Dec 1893 (reprinted from the Indianapolis Journal):

Kentucky’s Oscar Wilde Douglass Sherley is doubtless, in a literary way, the most conspicuous person in Louisville. He is notable also in many other ways. At first glance he is seen to be what is styled a “character.” Being fond of character study himself, he would no doubt generously recognize his own claim to the classification. He is a large, well built, squarely adjusted man, with a massive head and neck, dark hair, an intelligent brown, suggestive of femininity in a way, keen and kindly eyes, a large brown mustache, worn in curly ends like the “beau catchers” of the traditional stage spinster, a pleasant, sensitive mouth, with the air of a man of the world, but withal a clean, temperate, perfectly correct man of the world. He has a droll habit of holding his head on one side and looking aslant through his eyeglasses, which gives him a unique expression, and without which and the flowers in his lapel, almost always a red rose, he would hardly be Douglass Sherley, Mr. Sherley is popular among the men, and also much liked by the women, his literary work being more generally appreciated by the latter. There is a fine, feminine, but not unmanly, quality in his writings, which  really only women, or men with a like feminine streak, can interpret and enjoy.

A point of interest is this May 1886 article about Sherley from the Cincinnati Enquirer

A CLUB SCANDAL Douglas Sherley, of the Pelhams, Involved He Hunts for the Originator of the Story, and in His Search Punches a Bank Clerk SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER LOUISVILLE, KY., May 3 — Nothing is talked of in the clubs to-night except a difficulty which occured to-day between Mr. Douglas Sherley, Present of the Pelham Club, and Mr. Matt Smith, a member of that body. Mr. Sherley is a man of means and leisure, and belongs essentially to society. HE has written several books and has built an aesthetic house that has been the talk of the town for three years. The Pelham Club members are the younger set of society men and recently persuaded Mr. Sherley to accept the Presidency of their club. Within the last two weeks, however, a movement has been on foot in which twenty members of the club were interested to bring about Mr. Sherley’s removal. The understanding was that the twenty members in question should offer their resignations simultaneously to the Board of Directors. When questioned in regard to this unexpected action they were to say they would not belong to an organization which had for its Chief Executive a man who had been guilty of certain disgusting and unnatural practices that were charged against Mr. Sherley. When Mr. Sherley heard of this movement to-day he went at once to Mr. Matt Smith, a blank clerk, whom he had heard was one of his defamers, and demanded an immediate denial in writing of the nasty stories. Mr. Smith said he had not originated the stories, but had repeated them, and refused to sign the paper. Mr. Sherley, who is a fearless man and very athletic, promptly attacked young Smith and gave him a sharp blow in the neck. Smith attempted to return the blow, but outsiders interfered too quickly, and dragged the gentlemen apart before either was painfully injured. The affair quickly went the rounds, and the scandal has been vigorously discussed by society men all day. It is due Mr. Sherley to say that none of his friends believe the stories which gossips have put in circulation about him. He is an eccentric man, and some of his peculiarities have subjected him to comment, but he is a gentleman, nevertheless. Mr. Sherley has secured a cowhide and a pistol, it is said, and will either thrash or kill the man who is at the bottom of the outrage, if he can discover him.

I have a lot of thoughts about the connection but I'll get back around to that later

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jack Winstanley at MMFA:

Right-wing and far-right media have amplified a baseless claim that touch screen voting machines in Kentucky are flipping votes from former President Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris, with similar claims emerging from Texas. Local election officials in each state have rebutted the claims, with one Kentucky official saying, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.”

Election officials in several states have rebutted social media posts claiming that voting machines are flipping votes

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams debunked a widespread TikTok video that purports to show a voter in Laurel County, Kentucky, unable to select Trump on a touch screen voting machine. The video, which also showed the machine selecting Harris, has received 6.1 million views, with right-wing figures sharing it across other social media platforms as well. According to Adams, “There is no ‘vote-switching.’ The voter confirmed that her ballot was correctly printed as marked for the candidate of her choice. Get your voting information from legitimate sources.” [The Dispatch, 10/31/24; TikTok, 10/21/24, 10/21/24; Louisville Courier Journal, 10/31/24; PolitiFact, 11/1/24]

Kentucky election officials suggested that the video showed an isolated incident, with one Laurel County official stating, “Nobody complained before her, nobody complained after her.” Laurel County officials reported the issue to the attorney general’s office “just to cover all our bases,” and took their own video “showing that the machine is working and it is not flipping votes,” but were ultimately “unable to replicate the woman’s issue.” A spokesperson for the company that provides voting equipment for Laurel County confirmed that the touch screen devices print paper ballots that can be reviewed by voters prior to submission, adding, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.” [The Dispatch, 10/31/24]

The Tarrant County, Texas, elections office stated that it has “no reason to believe that votes are being switched by the voting system,” after a right-wing X (formerly Twitter) influencer claimed that machines were switching votes. Right-wing commentator George Behizy claimed that “Voters in Tarrant County, Texas are reporting that the voting machines are flipping their votes from Trump to Kamala Harris.” Local officials confirmed, however, that the voter who believed his vote had been miscast “was issued a new ballot and able to vote." [PolitiFact, 10/24/24; Twitter/X, 10/21/24] 

In the run-up to Election Day, right-wing and far-right media figures have been pushing baseless claims and conspiracy theories, seemingly attempting to undermine the election results. Several of these claims have involved voting machines, but experts say that voting machines are safe and difficult to hack or interfere with, and that errors are generally remedied by poll workers and local officials who have backup systems to ensure accurate votes are cast. [Bloomberg, 10/30/24; ABC News, 10/31/24; CBS News, 10/24/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 3/1/24, 10/25/24; Media Matters, 10/24/24, 10/30/24]

Election denialist right-wing media mouthpieces push the BS lie that touch screen voting machines are “flipping” votes from Donald Trump to Kamala Harris to push the lie about how the upcoming elections are “rigged.”

[eptodaytommorowforever]

Rare Journalist Columnist Billy Reed's Candid Photo Of Elvis Presley Here Performing At The Freedom Hall In Louisville In Kentucky And The Bill Reeds Courier Journal Newspapers Brief Review Of This Show.

[hooked-on-elvis]

Elvis would have stayed in the Army if he wasn't an entertainer.

APRIL 19TH, 1959 – THE LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL, KY

"Sure, I count the time I have left, but it's not the Army itself that's a bad deal. It's a pretty good deal. If you have something to do in the outside though, you kinda look forward in returning to it. If I had nothing to do, I'd stay in the Army." — Elvis, April 1959.

Germany, 1959 - Fans waiting for Elvis' arrival, outside his rented home at Goethestrasse 14, Bad Nauheim, Germany.

[trashland-llamas]

Dec Wrap Up

Twilight in Hazard; An Appalachian Reckoning [4.5 stars]

I found out about this book from my public library branch's Libby section for books about Appalachia and I'm glad. I've been wanting to learn more about Appalachia for a few months now, as I've lived in KY for most of my life but felt like I didn't really know anything. Not truly having roots here as my parents are west coast transplants. This book gives a very thorough history across many decades to the early 2020s.

Covering the coal industry, the OxyContin boom, the major levels of poverty, political corruption, and the shift from physical newspapers to online tabloids in Eastern Kentucky. The last one being that the author used to work for the Louisville Courier Journal and that this shift has actually been more detrimental to rural areas than beneficial. The book is a good starting point for those who know next to nothing about Eastern Kentucky and why it views the federal government and certain social issues the way it does. Would say to read other books in conjunction with this one due to its geographical specificity though. But there will definitely be similarities regarding the surrounding states.

Plus I'm overall tired of how people keep only recommending Hillbilly Elegy as that book is just another "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" story that doesn't seem to care about what happens to the area. Which I don't like that line of thinking as it doesn't account for all the outside forces affecting someone's life and why they make the choices they do. That's not to say they're the uwu helpless sort, just to clarify. Rather, the whole situation is a lot more nuanced than people like to admit and I think the author does a good job going about it all.

Alongside this, I'd simply rather hear from those who actually do want Appalachia to flourish. Even if said person starts out as an outsider. I listened to the audiobook version and will probably end up checking out the print version as there were some things mentioned that I definitely want to research and learn more about.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins  [4.25 stars]

Knowing the end of Gale's character arc in this series makes certain sentences a shit ton more eerie which is definitely foreshadowing on Collins' part

'He's something of a whiz with snares, rigging them to bent saplings so they pull the kill out of the reach of predators, balancing logs on delicate stick triggers, weaving inescapable baskets to capture fish.'

'Hands that have the power to mine coal but the precision to set a delicate snare.'

'I recognize that voice. It's the same one he uses to approach wounded animals before he delivers a deathblow.'

Apparently I remember the film a lot better than I thought cause I'd be reading certain passages and the movie scene would pop into my head as I was reading it. But just like TBOSAS, it's interesting to discover what they changed for the movie. Even with Collins' previous work in television before THG series.

I understand what people mean when they say Katniss' internal monologue is funny cause I was laughing at her pulling a Timothee Chalamet SNL character break, going 'I'm pregnant!?' knowing damn well she isn't. Yes, Peeta is charismatic but not that charismatic. 

That and her struggling to keep up the facade in the games. Like no wonder Snow didn't believe y'all's love bs, beyond his past w/ Lucy Gray

Same with the 'ayo, why is Finnick kissing Peeta?' but then going 'oh, right, cpr is a thing,' which I do think emphasizes how she's 17 without necessarily calling to it. Like a show, don't tell thing cause there's only one line I saw that outright said her age.

Also the attention that Collins gives to implementing folk customs into the story - the herbalist book from her mother's side, the district's all having a diff staple bread, & how district 12 does their wedding

And I am now caught up on the Hunger Series except for the Haymitch book that's about to be released. Reading order has gone; The Hunger Games -> Mockingjay -> TBOSAS -> Catching Fire

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Vol 1 - HYBE [4.25 stars] Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story - Laurie Loughlin [4.0 stars] Pupposites Attract Vol 1 - Hono Natsuna [4.0 stars]

Has similar vibes to the webtoon My Giant Nerd Boyfriend but the roles are reversed and there are exponentially more dogs involved. But that's where the similarities begin and end. One of those sappy/fluffy, quick reads for when the weather's dreary. 

All-New Wolverine: Immune Vol 4 - Leonard Kirk & Tom Taylor [3.75 stars] Given Vol 7 - Natsuki Kizu [3.0 stars] Hanukcats: And Other Traditional Jewish Songs for Cats - Angela Shelf Medearis [3.5 stars] Pupposites Attract Vol 2 - Hono Natsuna [3.75 stars]

The next 6 were rated 3.0 stars just b/c while I wasn’t the intended audience, I still greatly enjoyed them and thought the art style was extremely adorable. 

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] Super Narwhal and Jelly - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] Narwhal's Otter Friend - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] Narwhal's Sweet Tooth - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] Narwhal's School of Awesomeness - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] A Super Scary Narwhalloween - Ben Clanton [3.0 stars] Pack Origin - Kate King & Jessa Wilder [2.0 stars]

I always forget that romantasy is not really my thing seeing as I'm extremely picky when it comes to romance in general. Haven't entirely given up on the genre though.

As implied by the title, it's omegaverse where a character thinks they're a beta and then ends up an omega and their pack/harem is their alpha friends. There was an interesting aspect mentioned offhandedly in the first chapter about how omega/alpha pheromones are used as party drugs by betas. But because this book, despite the multiple povs is mainly framed in the fmc Bliss' perspective so it's unfortunately never explored. Otherwise, this book did make me realize I only like omegaverse in fanfiction b/c the book wasn't terrible.

It is a prequel novella to what seems to be a duology at this point in time. Went into it blind so Idk if the author is continuing it or if it's a completed series. Anyways, I bring this up as the novella does seem to be akin to how designers will make mock-ups of stuff when pitching ideas.

Unofficial Recipes of the Hunger Games: 187 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingbird [2.75 stars]

This cookbook, oddly at the beginning, wants you to make everything in the recipe from scratch but the further it goes along, the more it becomes 'yea, buying stuff's fine.' Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I'd rather them pick a lane

Would mostly recommend it for those who know next to nothing about cooking/baking and are wanting a place to start. That or if you're wanting to make more dinners at home with more vegetables

While it heavily acknowledges the fact that district 12 is supposed to be Appalachia, there's not a single recipe for grits. Closest they get is Mrs. Everdeen's Breakfast of Mush

It also treats meats such as squirrel, rabbit, and even venison at times as being 'exotic' meats. Which, as someone who lives in the south, aren't considered such. So that just came across as weird to me

Taylor Swift By the Book - Tiffany Tatreau & Rachel Feder [1.5 stars]

It's a recap video when I was expecting a video essay but in book form. It's extremely surface level and comes across pretentious as f. And funny enough in a book where you should be allowed to quote the lyrics, there's next to nothing. Or rather it's a single line used so it falls extremely flat when they point out the references. Like it's basic ass stuff you could research yourself going line by line on your own time. That and their quips piss me off.

Quips include [listening to the audiobook so apologies if the punctuation is off];

'If the theme of two girls competing for the affections of one guy doesn't sit well with you, we invite you to consider the following thesis; Cinderella was the original pick-me girl.'

'The choruses of Don't Blame Me and I Did Something Bad could've been sung by Ophelia and Lady Macbeth respectively at karaoke night...'

'Romeo and Juliet wish they had this steamy song to bop to, back in the 1500s'

Not a quip but 'Swiftian'

And to clarify, this isn't to say having this lightheartedness or the attitude the authors have towards old timey classics insults or devalues their work. Because simply put, it doesn't. The classical authors mentioned throughout have been dead for a while now. It's rather that there's an insulting insincerity that comes with treating Swift’s work akin to academia.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Marc Murphy, Louisville Courier-Journal

[dropboxofcuriosities]

Attention aux soucoupes volantes qui atterrissent sur les autoroutes, Louisville Courier Journal, 1957.

[explicus]

Tobacco Harvest 1946

Photographer: Marie Hansen (American, 1918-1969)

After graduating from the University of Missouri, Marie Hansen went to the Louisville Courier-Journal where she was a photographer and photo editor. In 1942, she was offered a job to join the team of LIFE staff photographers as their third female staff photographer (Margaret Bourke-White and Hansel Mieth were the other two at the time). Hansen’s first big story for LIFE was her photo-essay on the WAAC’s, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, which was first organized in the United States, May 12, 1942. In 1945, Hansen went to Hollywood for LIFE, where Joseph Pasternak (Hungarian-born film producer working at MGM) asked her to audition. After a screen test, she was offered a movie contract, but turned it down because she realized she was more interested in what was going on behind the camera than in front of it. After Hollywood, Hansen was stationed in Washington, D.C. where she was assigned to the White House during most of World War II. General Dwight D. Eisenhower chose one of Hansen’s portraits of him as his “official” photograph. In 1946, Hansen left LIFE as a staff photographer, and she and her husband David Wesley toured the world as a writer/photographer team.

[wallow-away]

The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, August 1952 / Emergency Management, Camille Rankine / The Collected Poems; “Witch Burning,” Sylvia Plath / Boku no Ita Jikan (2014) / Ribs, Lorde / Anne with an E, S1:E2 / Ribs, Lorde / Simon Leclerc / The Lover, Marguerite Duras

[muddypolitics]

(via Let's Take a Closer Look at the Abuse Allegation Against House Oversight Chair James Comer)

In Mary 2015, as the blogs circulated and reporters hounded her, Thomas sent a letter to a Louisville Courier-Journal reporter in which she said she was upset about people online calling her a liar and opportunist. The four-page letter went on to recount her experiences with Comer in devastating detail. Thomas said they dated for two years in Western Kentucky University in the 1990s and claimed that Comer not only hit her, but was a “toxic,” “abusive,” and “controlling” partner who isolated her from family and friends. Thomas heavily implied that Comer impregnated her and said he took her to an abortion clinic in November 1991 when she was 19, and was “enraged” when she listed his real name as the person escorting her home. Thomas said she kept documentation of the abortion given to her by the clinic.

lovely people in the GOP